Automobile.



T. A. EDISON.

AUTOMOBILE. APPLIUAT'ION FILED APR. 17, 1908.

947,806. Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

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T. A. EDISON. AUTOMOBILE.

I APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1908.

Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

' n STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMOBILE.

arisen.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1910.

Application filed April 17, 1908. Serial No. 427,682.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ALVA ED1- so1v,.a citizenof the United States, residing at Llewellyn Park, Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobiles, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to self propelled vehicles or automobiles in which the steering wheels are mounted upon knuckles which turn upon vertical axes so as to vary the angle of the axes of said wheels with re spect to the body of the vehicle, and has 3 for its object the application of driving means to said wheels in such a manner,as to move withsaid wheels about the vertical axes of the steering knuckles, said driving means being supported bythe body of the vehicle and movable with respect thereto;

In order that my invention may be more fully understood, reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, of whichligure 1 is a plan view of an automobil constructed in accordance with my invention, part of the body being broken. away, i

and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said vehicle. y

In thcseviews, correspondingparts are represented by the same numerals of reference.

In the structure shown, the vehicle body 1 is supported at its rear by a fixed axle upon which the wheels 2 are rotatably mounted. and its forward end rests u on sn'in 3. carried by the transverse r 4 l g a at the ends of which the steering knuckles are mounted, the same being capable of oscillation upon a vertical axis 6, and the front wheels 7 extending outward from knuckles. and having a lug 9- pivoted at 10 to a link 11. the other end of which is pivoted at 12 to an arm 30 rigid with a. vertical rock shaft 13, which may be oper- F ated by the hand wheel 14.

The body 1 is provided with curved tracks 15 and L6 concentric with the axes 6 of the steering knuckles 5, and upon said tracks are hung the frames or bodies of the motors 17, which as shown, are electric motors, the

are rotatable upon axles said. steering knuckles. Means are provided for moving said knuckles, said means being shown as 9 a transverse rod 8, pivoted at each end to T the forwardly extending arms of said bodies depending from and being supported by horizontal spindles 18, the ends of which are provided with rollers 19, which rest upon the tracks 15 and 16. The motor shafts '20 are provided at their outer ends with sprockets 21, around which pass chains 22, which engage sprockets 23, secured to the wheels 7. There is a lug 24 rigid with each of the motor frames and connected with aforwardly'extending arm or link 25 by. a pirrand-Slot connection 26. The forward ends of the links 25 are pivoted at 27 to arms or lugs 28 integral with the steering knuckles. i

When the front wheels are turned upon the axes 6 of the steering knuckles 5 by meansof the hand wheel 14 and rock shaft I the relative positions of the motors 17 re-- 1 main unchanged with respect to the steering knuckles and the Wheels 7 carried thereby, all of said parts moving with respect to the vehicle body around the axes 6. The pinand-slot connection 26 permits relative movements of said body and wheels in a the. supporting springs 3.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In an automobile, the combination of the body, wheel, and wheel. support mounted to turn on a vertical axis, filIlOtOl' supported bysaid body and movable along an are conl centricavith' said vertical axis, and a driving connection between said inotor and said j wheel, substantially as set forth.

2. In an automobile, the ,combination of the body, wheel and wheel support movable upon a vertical axis, a motor supported by said body, a driving connection between said motor and said wheel, and a connection between the m'otor and wheel support, whereby a movement of the latter causes said n1oi tor to move therewith, substantially as set forth.

, 3. In an automobile, the combination of a 3 body with a supporting wheel therefor movable upon a vertical axis, a curved track coni centric with said axis, a motor supported by and movable along said track, and a, driving connection between said motor and said l wheel, substantially as set forth.

vertical direction, due to the resilience of t 4. in an automobile, the combination of a axis concentric With'said curved track, and

a driving connection between said motor and said wheel, substantially as set forth.

6. In an automobile, the combination of a body having a curved track, rollers supported on said track, a motor sup orted by said rollers, a wheel and wheel support movable upon a vertical axis concentric with said curved track, a driving connection between said motor and said wheel, and a connection between said motor and said wheel support whereby said parts are caused to move together, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 13th day of March 1908.

v THOS. A. EDISON.

\Vitnesses FRANK D. LEWIS, -H. H. DYKE. 

